a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

The Weakest Link

The Jazz cannot win with Boozer. He is the weakest link in the starting lineup. Memo heard all the talk about he’s soft, and did something about it. He’s working with the coaches, going inside and getting boards. In terms of aggressiveness, Memo (Memo!!!!! the soft Euro!!!!) puts Booze to shame. AK might not fill up the stat sheet like he used to, but he’s making his shots.

That leaves Boozer. He never goes inside, and just keeps chucking up those fadeaway jumpers. (Not just jumpers–fadeaway jumpers to eliminate even more the possibility of physical contact). He gets rebounds only when they literally fall into his hands. How can the Jazz win with him in the lineup? If the game is close, Booze’s chucking will lose the game for them.

Next season will be even worse. He will be content to rest on his laurels as an All-Star and member of the Olympic team. If he doesn’t think he needs to improve his game now, what is gonna make him think he should do anything differently after he’s played in the Olympics? Not to mention the fatigue factor.

That quote in the desnews was really telling. Okur took the criticism to heart; Booze says:
“I don’t worry about it. I know I’m going to play great down the stretch.”